


soft universe

by winkthusiast



Category: Wanna One (Band)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Daniel being soft for Jihoon, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Light Angst, M/M, Mentions of Disbandment, Wanna One Ensemble - Freeform, seongwu is briefly mentioned lmao
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-05
Updated: 2018-10-05
Packaged: 2019-07-25 17:32:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16202297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/winkthusiast/pseuds/winkthusiast
Summary: "ㅡit dawns on Daniel then that the tough exterior Jihoon dons is a façade to protect the soft, naïve version of himself that he keeps hidden away from prying eyes. In his most vulnerable moment, Daniel realizes the younger loves him so much that he too, breaks when Daniel does; so much that only he is privy to the gentle Jihoon who showers him with love and care to soften out the edges of the harsh reality of the celebrity life they signed up for."





	soft universe

Daniel once prided himself in having a strong mental stateㅡ that is, until, he sat on the throne atop that cursed gilded pyramid looking down upon a boy whose gaze held stars that burst to light everytime the light catches his eyes. It was in that moment he realized that they were both living on borrowed time, and the countdown already started the moment his face flashed up on the screen during the announcement for first place. Since then, fear ate away at his resolve. Erosion came over time and sanded away sediments of it, pulverizing what used to be stone into sand.

He never tells Jihoon, but with each passing day, he holds him closer at night. Sometimes, his emotions get the better of him and he bleeds his love in their bed though tears that never seem to run out, and everytime he does, he makes sure Jihoon never notices. As much as possible, he wants to shield Jihoon from the imminent truth of their unforgiving reality. He loses more and more sleep as time passes, but being in bed next to Jihoon makes the pain and the chaos of reality feel so muted. With him in his arms, he revels in the insularity of their soft universe.

\---

"Niel-ah, have you been sleeping lately? You look really tired." his make-up artist asks, and Daniel flinches slightly. He sees Jihoon, who's getting his hair done beside him, sneak a worried glance at him.

"I've been sleeping just fine, noona. It's just a rough morning, is all." he replies and musters the brightest smile he can. He avoids Jihoon's eyes, knowing full well that the younger can easily see through his lies. He starts panicking when the younger's eyes start to droop in sadness. His panic, however, is momentarily cut-off when a producer pops his head through the dressing room door and makes an announcement.

"Break is up in five!"

 

Avoiding Jihoon for five minutes in a room full of bustling people isn't so hard. He resolutely ignores the younger's burning stare and busies himself with whatever, or whoever, is in his rangeㅡ buying himself some time as he mentally prepares himself for the inevitable talk they're going to have once they're back at the dorms.

\---

"Hyung, are you going to tell me what's wrong or am I going to have to pry it out of Seongwu-hyung?" Jihoon asks, determination burning in pools of amber as he tries to look as intimidating as possible to his taller, older boyfriend.

"Hoon-ah, Iㅡ" Daniel's breath catches in his throat when he sees the younger look up at him in anticipation. Tears start to well up in his eyes as he's suddenly struck with the fear of Jihoon leaving. This boy,ㅡ who wormed his way through the center of his heart and his life in the shortest time; who made his days in Produce 101 feel infinitely brighter with the naughty sparkle in his captivating eyesㅡ made him, Kang Daniel, the successor of the great Jeon Somi, feel conceited for hating the very system that brought their fates together.

He feels Jihoon's arms wrap around his neck in a tight embrace as sobs start to wreck his body. The younger whimpers into his skin, empathizing with his boyfriend's current state of emotional distress, and it dawns on Daniel then that the tough exterior Jihoon dons is a façade to protect the soft, naïve version of himself that he keeps hidden away from prying eyes. In his most vulnerable moment, Daniel realizes the younger loves him so much that he too, breaks when Daniel does; so much that only he is privy to the gentle Jihoon who showers him with love and care to soften out the edges of the harsh reality of the celebrity life they signed up for.

 

For what seems like an eternity, they stay entwined in each other's embrace until both of them regain enough composure to be able to talk again.

"Hoonie-yah, I'm just so scared. I'm scared of what will happen after the disbandment. I'm scared of us growing apart and slowly returning to strangers. I'm scared that the time will come where I’ll only be able to look at you from afar and not be able to be with you and hold you close like i always do." Daniel starts rambling, voice still shaky from crying.

"Hyung, I’m scared too you know? Who knows what will happen after all this? Right now, i feel like the luckiest person in the world for having the person who gained the favor of the whole South Korea as my boyfriend. I still have a lot of fear for what the future might bring, but i'm trying my best to do the most logical thing in this situation, and that's trusting you. I want you to know that I trust you, hyung. I love you no matter what, and nothing, not even our disbandment will ever change that. So trust me too, hyung." Jihoon says, cupping the elder's cheeks in his hands.

  
His statement renders the elder speechless. The Jihoon standing in front of him isn't the same as the Jihoon he met nearly two years ago. This Jihoon, who sometimes still favors mismatched laces and makes terrible fashion choices, has grown up a lot and has matured through making his dreams of debuting come to fruition. In his constant state of worry these past few months, he forgot that his Jihoon had grown into an adult. He forgot the fact that even if the world may turn on him, he'd always have the younger in his side to support him.

"Jihoonie, I trust you, I really do. I guess I just let my worries get the better of me and forgot that I always had you on my side. I love you so much, baby. I'm really sorry." he apologizes as he sits on his bed pulls Jihoon onto his lap. He starts stroking the younger's hair in comfort and his heart surges with waves of overwhelming love and appreciation for the boy who stole his heart the moment he saw him against the blinding lights of the audition studio.

"It's okay, hyung. I love you too. You know that, right?" Jihoon mumbles against his chest.

"I do, baby. You're the most precious thing in my life right now, and whatever hardship we might face in the future, I will stay with you no matter what, even if it means losing everything I’ve worked for... even losing the favor of South Korea." he jokes, trying to make light of the situation.

"Ah, hyung why are you saying that? As if that would even happen." the younger replies sleepily.

Daniel notices the younger's lethargy and starts maneuvering them so that they're lying side by side. On his feather cotton bed, he presses a soft kiss on top of Jihoon's head and sends a quiet prayer to all the deities to keep them together as long as humanly possible. And a while later, he finds himself slowly falling into slumber with infinite, unspoken declarations of love running through his head, belatedly realizing that the closer he holds his Jihoon in his arms, the farther his worries seem to be.

**Author's Note:**

> okay so this was written on a whim bc i was listening to aurora's new album and was suddenly hit with an inspiration to write nielwink. sorry for all errors, as this was unbeta'ed, and if it gets cheesy at the end, i'm sorry i got carried away ㅠㅠ this is my first fic so any and all comments/kudos would be greatly appreciated. come hmu on twitter @winkthusiast and we'll scream about wink ships tgt. love u all.  
> ㅡ chris


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